Join the Wyoming Navy-It's every man for himself

Obnoxious Republicans, the dominate species of that particular animals these days, absolutely love to point fingers at the failure and stupidity of government and with a self-righteous glee declare how superior they are for wanting to save taxpayer dollars. These people will move heaven and earth to expose all sorts of government abuses, both real and imagined, to prove their point that only they can rein in the evils of bureaucrats. More times than I want to think about I have heard some giggly conservative fool talk about outrageous liberal programs that fund the arts or education, which they feel undermine the foundations and principles of the United States.

I admit, some of the art stuff does boggle my humble and plebeian mind but in the greater scope of political pork I know from experience the Army throws away the annual budget of the National Endowment for the Arts in the space of a day or two so it doesn’t bother me all that much. As for education funding my favorite example of hypocrisy comes from the resident morning blowhard on CNBC who out of one side of his mouth is in a panic over nasty socialist schoolteachers out to undermine the holy capitalist system. The next minute he blathers on about their incompetence and how they could not teach a wino how to get drunk.

To be sure there are multitudes of incompetent or corrupt government officials and employees engaging in actions that anyone with an IQ over 50 would never consider. The uncomfortable truth that few seem to understand, namely because they are pushing a narrow-minded agenda, is that idiocy is not exclusive to any one political party. Whenever humans are involved to some degree or another stupidity, foolish behavior, and in my opinion cowardice always follow.

This brings to mind a laughable/absurd/insane article that I found this Sunday morning as I was sipping my coffee. It seems that the good folks way out west in Wyoming fear that the federal government could collapse and bring with it the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Given the conservative tendencies of Dick Cheney’s home state this “worry” over the catastrophic breakdown of the national government is almost heartwarming to this liberal's bleeding heart.

Now I have absolutely no problem with preparing for the worst, as much as some liberals are out to deny it there are some very nasty people in this world out to harm Americans as much as possible. Yes, you can dither about the imperialistic foreign policies of the United States at the behest of unethical, immoral and unrestrained corporations but when you boil it down to the basics there are still individuals and nations out to harm us. Throw in natural disasters of varying degrees and it is prudent to have plans when the metaphorical shit hits the proverbial fan.

But friends, Americans, countrymen lend me your ears for a moment because what the good people of Wyoming are talking about goes beyond simple preparedness to outright cowardly abandonment of the rest of the country.

"Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. And House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier.”

Before I touch on the most glaring part of the above statement I do not know about anyone else but when Wyoming state officials talk about implementing a draft and raising a standing army I get the feeling someone is worried about those evil people from Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Idaho, and the Dakotas. Frankly, I understand the sentiment about Montana, with all that big sky country people there have always seemed a little loopy to me. Moreover, when you add their stated desire to purchase strike aircraft this starts smelling less like disaster preparness and more like preparations for a civil war.

Conservatives usually wrap themselves in the flag proclaiming how pure American they are and how proud they are to be citizens of the “freest, greatest, nation God ever graced this planet.” This bill, and others like very much like it all across the United States, in my opinion are articles of cowardice. Sure, all sorts of crap could hit the United States disrupting every aspect of our lives and killing thousands if not millions but instead of planning on how to successfully emerge from what may come and assisting other Americans many plan for nothing further than taking care of themselves. Sort of makes a huge joke out of whole “We will all hang together or we will hang separately” as Ben Franklin said long ago.

Finally, not to further question the intelligence of the elected officials of Wyoming, but does anyone out there have a map? Wyoming is a seriously landlocked state and they want to buy an aircraft carrier?!?!?!

Added this so the geographically challenged will know where Wyoming is located. And here is the entire article:

Wyoming House advances doomsday bill
 CHEYENNE — State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States.
House Bill 85 passed on first reading by a voice vote. It would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government.
The task force would look at the feasibility of
Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. And House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, has said he doesn’t anticipate any major crises hitting America anytime soon. But with the national debt exceeding $15 trillion and protest movements growing around the country, Miller said Wyoming — which has a comparatively good economy and sound state finances — needs to make sure it’s protected should any unexpected emergency hit the U.S.
Several House members spoke in favor of the legislation, saying there was no harm in preparing for the worst.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in this room today what would come up here and say that this country is in good shape, that the world is stable and in good shape — because that is clearly not the case,” state Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, R-Thermopolis, said. “To put your head in the sand and think that nothing bad’s going to happen, and that we have no obligation to the citizens of the state of Wyoming to at least have the discussion, is not healthy.”
Wyoming’s Department of Homeland Security already has a statewide crisis management plan, but it doesn’t cover what the state should do in the event of an extreme nationwide political or economic collapse. In recent years, lawmakers in at least six states have introduced legislation to create a state currency, all unsuccessfully.
The task force would include state lawmakers, the director of the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security, the Wyoming attorney general and the Wyoming National Guard’s adjutant general, among others.
The bill must pass two more House votes before it would head to the Senate for consideration. The original bill appropriated $32,000 for the task force, though the Joint Appropriations Committee slashed that number in half earlier this week.
University of Wyoming political science professor Jim King said the potential for a complete unraveling of the U.S. government and economy is “astronomically remote” in the foreseeable future.
But King noted that the federal government set up a Continuity of Government Commission in 2002, of which former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson, R-Wyo., was co-chairman. However, King said he didn’t know of any states that had established a similar board.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-house-advances-doomsday-bill/article_af6e1b2b-0ca4-553f-85e9-92c0f58c00bd.html#ixzz1nWLyX1KX